Catholic Priests Abused Thousands of Children (and that's just in one country)

Ok. Seriously. WTF. Anbody here go to Catholic school or was an altar boy? Are you ok? This is what happens when menaren't allowed to "release their natural juices."

There should be a seriousinternational investigation into all the branches of the Catholicchurch. How/Why do they allow this to go on when they are supposed to be themoral compass of Catholics everywhere.

Fromthe article:

The report by an independent commission said Catholic officials failed to tackle the widespread abuse "to prevent scandals". The suspected number of abuse victims who spent some of their youth in church institutions is between likely lies 10,000 and 20,000, according to a summary of the report.

Based on a survey of more than 34,000 people, the commission estimated that one in 10 Dutch children suffered some form of abuse. The number doubled to 20 percent of children who spent part of their youth in an institution - whether Catholic or not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/8960916/Child-abuse-rife-in-Dutch-Catholic-institutions.html

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/16/world/europe/netherlands-church-sex-abuse/index.html

First it is school coaches, now priests? Man, you can't trust anyone anymore.Engrish_Major

And this happens in other churches....and in other professions. It's not limited to one.....but that's all the media prints.LJS9502_basic

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]First it is school coaches, now priests? Man, you can't trust anyone anymore.LJS9502_basic

Ooh dutchland..u so crazy.

yeah it's messed up, but they don't believe it is bad to touch little boys. to them, it's OK, that's why they do it. :)

I hope you aren't blaming Catholicism for this or anything, that seems like it might be a bit skewed.

It happens, its sad and terrible, but pedophiles get in a position of power so they can abuse it on children. Teachers, janitors, boy scout leaders, etc. The priests didn't become priests to be priestly (or, whatever), and its not because they "weren't allowed to release their juices" (Which is just dumb).

Its because they were pedophiles that cheesed their power to abuse children. The Catholic church didn't make them do it, and members of the church didn't try to cover it up because they were pro child abuse. The ones who tried to cover it up were just morons that wanted to preserve the sanctity of the church and avoid the fallout (though that obviously failed), and its not like they encouraged it and the church is some child molester creation machine.

This happens EVERYWHERE, not just Catholic churches. People only take notice because "oh man, that's a priest they shouldn't be doing that!" But you may as well say they should investigate every football coach and and field trip escort to prevent this, especially considering the ratio of estimated pedophiles (with the general public estimated between 3-9% pedophiliac in some way, and 2-6%, which doesn't mean "oh man every Priest is a child molester).

Plus its like you said, the kids abused weren't just in Catholic institutions. It could have been some bus drivers or touchy feely police or creepy uncles or, hell, protestant preachers. Its not like the Catholic church is a giant pro pedophile organization, its just extra terrible because of how the priests are "supposed" to act, but in the end its just another job any terrible person can have if they really want it.

I hope you aren't blaming Catholicism for this or anything, that seems like it might be a bit skewed.

It happens, its sad and terrible, but pedophiles get in a position of power so they can abuse it on children. Teachers, janitors, boy scout leaders, etc. The priests didn't become priests to be priestly (or, whatever), and its not because they "weren't allowed to release their juices" (Which is just dumb).

Its because they were pedophiles that cheesed their power to abuse children. The Catholic church didn't make them do it, and members of the church didn't try to cover it up because they were pro child abuse. The ones who tried to cover it up were just morons that wanted to preserve the sanctity of the church and avoid the fallout (though that obviously failed), and its not like they encouraged it and the church is some child molester creation machine.

This happens EVERYWHERE, not just Catholic churches. People only take notice because "oh man, that's a priest they shouldn't be doing that!" But you may as well say they should investigate every football coach and and field trip escort to prevent this, especially considering the ratio of estimated pedophiles (with the general public estimated between 3-9% pedophiliac in some way, and 2-6%, which doesn't mean "oh man every Priest is a child molester).

Plus its like you said, the kids abused weren't just in Catholic institutions. It could have been some bus drivers or touchy feely police or creepy uncles or, hell, protestant preachers. Its not like the Catholic church is a giant pro pedophile organization, its just extra terrible because of how the priests are "supposed" to act, but in the end its just another job any terrible person can have if they really want it.

SPYDER0416

I hope you aren't blaming Catholicism for this or anything, that seems like it might be a bit skewed.

It happens, its sad and terrible, but pedophiles get in a position of power so they can abuse it on children. Teachers, janitors, boy scout leaders, etc. The priests didn't become priests to be priestly (or, whatever), and its not because they "weren't allowed to release their juices" (Which is just dumb).

Its because they were pedophiles that cheesed their power to abuse children. The Catholic church didn't make them do it, and members of the church didn't try to cover it up because they were pro child abuse. The ones who tried to cover it up were just morons that wanted to preserve the sanctity of the church and avoid the fallout (though that obviously failed), and its not like they encouraged it and the church is some child molester creation machine.

This happens EVERYWHERE, not just Catholic churches. People only take notice because "oh man, that's a priest they shouldn't be doing that!" But you may as well say they should investigate every football coach and and field trip escort to prevent this, especially considering the ratio of estimated pedophiles (with the general public estimated between 3-9% pedophiliac in some way, and 2-6%, which doesn't mean "oh man every Priest is a child molester).

Plus its like you said, the kids abused weren't just in Catholic institutions. It could have been some bus drivers or touchy feely police or creepy uncles or, hell, protestant preachers. Its not like the Catholic church is a giant pro pedophile organization, its just extra terrible because of how the priests are "supposed" to act, but in the end its just another job any terrible person can have if they really want it.

I hope you aren't blaming Catholicism for this or anything, that seems like it might be a bit skewed.

It happens, its sad and terrible, but pedophiles get in a position of power so they can abuse it on children. Teachers, janitors, boy scout leaders, etc. The priests didn't become priests to be priestly (or, whatever), and its not because they "weren't allowed to release their juices" (Which is just dumb).

Its because they were pedophiles that cheesed their power to abuse children. The Catholic church didn't make them do it, and members of the church didn't try to cover it up because they were pro child abuse. The ones who tried to cover it up were just morons that wanted to preserve the sanctity of the church and avoid the fallout (though that obviously failed), and its not like they encouraged it and the church is some child molester creation machine.

This happens EVERYWHERE, not just Catholic churches. People only take notice because "oh man, that's a priest they shouldn't be doing that!" But you may as well say they should investigate every football coach and and field trip escort to prevent this, especially considering the ratio of estimated pedophiles (with the general public estimated between 3-9% pedophiliac in some way, and 2-6%, which doesn't mean "oh man every Priest is a child molester).

Plus its like you said, the kids abused weren't just in Catholic institutions. It could have been some bus drivers or touchy feely police or creepy uncles or, hell, protestant preachers. Its not like the Catholic church is a giant pro pedophile organization, its just extra terrible because of how the priests are "supposed" to act, but in the end its just another job any terrible person can have if they really want it.

SPYDER0416

there is a reason why catholic priests are getting the fame of pedophiles, but i give your try of excusing them a 5/10

1 in 5 children overall looks to be a really large number. The reports doesn't seen clear enough about their statistical or interview methodology, it's hard to judge from such scarce information.

I hope you aren't blaming Catholicism for this or anything, that seems like it might be a bit skewed.

It happens, its sad and terrible, but pedophiles get in a position of power so they can abuse it on children. Teachers, janitors, boy scout leaders, etc. The priests didn't become priests to be priestly (or, whatever), and its not because they "weren't allowed to release their juices" (Which is just dumb).

Its because they were pedophiles that cheesed their power to abuse children. The Catholic church didn't make them do it, and members of the church didn't try to cover it up because they were pro child abuse. The ones who tried to cover it up were just morons that wanted to preserve the sanctity of the church and avoid the fallout (though that obviously failed), and its not like they encouraged it and the church is some child molester creation machine.

This happens EVERYWHERE, not just Catholic churches. People only take notice because "oh man, that's a priest they shouldn't be doing that!" But you may as well say they should investigate every football coach and and field trip escort to prevent this, especially considering the ratio of estimated pedophiles (with the general public estimated between 3-9% pedophiliac in some way, and 2-6%, which doesn't mean "oh man every Priest is a child molester).

Plus its like you said, the kids abused weren't just in Catholic institutions. It could have been some bus drivers or touchy feely police or creepy uncles or, hell, protestant preachers. Its not like the Catholic church is a giant pro pedophile organization, its just extra terrible because of how the priests are "supposed" to act, but in the end its just another job any terrible person can have if they really want it.

SPYDER0416

You're right it happens everywhere, but when it's such a widespread problem in a single organization, something doesn't add up. Police officers abuse their power all the time, but if a single department abused it much more than is the norm, then something has to be done. Here in Atlanta Bishop Eddie Long allegedly had inappropriate contact with several boys, but that doesn't mean all Baptist churches should be investigated. The Catholic church on the other hand is a very large organization with a set hierarchy and internal regulatory bodies. Yet, one can go to separate branches in mutliple countries and find sexual abuse. The reason this is so shocking is because priests try to tell other people how to live when they themselves are breaking the very rules they preach.

*yawn*

I can't say I'm at all surprised to be honest, it seems obvious that there will unfortunately always be people who abuse such positions of power, and any organisation as far-reaching and powerful as the Catholic church is going to use its influence to deal with things like that in a hush-hush manner.

This doesn't happen because it's the Catholc Church, it happens because pedophiles know that becoming a priest let's you be around kids unsuepervised. The thing pedophiles seem to want is power so they try to get in positions of trust where they can exploit people, this happens in alot of other kinds of places too unforuteantley, like schools, boy scouts, sports ect.... Whatever they can find to gain trust, they will use it to exploit and hurt others. The real solution is to have better background checks and teach people to try and become more aware, they say that when they capture a pedophile that it isn't his first victim and that they have hurt MANY MANY kids before they get caught, it's never their first victim.

I say if they molest once they either stay in prison for life or get the death penalty, period. None of this "rehabilitation" sh!t, anyone who thinks like that is a moron and needs to get their head shoved up their own ass. They don't stop, ever. Once they get out they do it again and again, and people who think they can be "cured" and released share some of the blame for when a kid get's hurt by a repeat offender.

This doesn't happen because it's the Catholc Church, it happens because pedophiles know that becoming a priest let's you be around kids unsuepervised. The thing pedophiles seem to want is power so they try to get in positions of trust where they can exploit people, this happens in alot of other kinds of places too unforuteantley, like schools, boy scouts, sports ect.... Whatever they can find to gain trust, they will use it to exploit and hurt others. The real solution is to have better background checks and teach people to try and become more aware, they say that when they capture a pedophile that it isn't his first victim and that they have hurt MANY MANY kids before they get caught, it's never their first victim.

I say if they molest once they either stay in prison for life or get the death penalty, period. None of this "rehabilitation" sh!t, anyone who thinks like that is a moron and needs to get their head shoved up their own ass. They don't stop, ever. Once they get out they do it again and again, and people who think they can be "cured" and released share some of the blame for when a kid get's hurt by a repeat offender.

The next thing you're going to tell me is that sexual abuse is happening at big time football and basketball universities and is being covered up! Hah, like that will ever happen. . . . .

The Pope (King of the Pedos) is my hero.Jazz_Fan

The pope's got nothing on JoePA and Boeheim.

Oh yay! I can finally use this picture now.

Joking aside, the issue, as others have mentioned, is the coverup. Frankly, bad things happen and there are bad people everywhere. Where the Catholic Church went horrifyingly wrong is that they knew about these issues for decades and, rather than doing anything at all about it - such as removing the problem priests from positions where they would have easy access to kids and a position of trust to exploit - they shuffled the problem priests around to other areas after they were discovered.

Essentially, they covered up thousands of rapes of children for decades. They're not materially different than what Penn State and Joe Paterno allowed for decades except that they're a WORLDWIDE organization. They basically took the Penn State ametuer model of enabling and allowing child rape and went professional all over the world.

They are getting a ton of grief for it, even years later, and DESERVEDLY SO.

Its also misleading to blame celibacy for this.

Just because a person doesnt get married doesn't mean their natural healthy sexual urges turn into pedophilia. There are such things as masturbation and actually having sex with adult women. I don't know about you, butI could live the rest of my life without sex and never feel the urge for a child.

Its well established in psychology that pedophila is a deep seated pschyological illness that begins early on. Most pedophiles were themselves sexually abused as children. These monsters weaseled their way into the clergy. Actually most of them aren't classified as pedophiles (who are attracted to small children) but were ephebophiles attracted to post-pubescent boys/young men (which isn't any better). For example, the Detroit News ran an article about a priest who abused an 18 year old "boy". The study that was conducted on Catholic clergy stated that most of the priests who committed abuses would have described themselves as homosexual.

In no way am I defending them, I hope they burn. No matter what illness or urge you have, it takes a real monster to harm a child. I am however trying to correct the misinformation that is out there about celibacy--the vast majority of which are perfectly normal.

Oh yay! I can finally use this picture now.

Joking aside, the issue, as others have mentioned, is the coverup. Frankly, bad things happen and there are bad people everywhere. Where the Catholic Church went horrifyingly wrong is that they knew about these issues for decades and, rather than doing anything at all about it - such as removing the problem priests from positions where they would have easy access to kids and a position of trust to exploit - they shuffled the problem priests around to other areas after they were discovered.

Essentially, they covered up thousands of rapes of children for decades. They're not materially different than what Penn State and Joe Paterno allowed for decades except that they're a WORLDWIDE organization. They basically took the Penn State ametuer model of enabling and allowing child rape and went professional all over the world.

They are getting a ton of grief for it, even years later, and DESERVEDLY SO.

What I find disturbing is this trend of covering up illegal actions does far beyond one institution. I've seen this time and time again, where people in power will act in such a way to try and avoid bringing shame or controversy to their organization. It's not necessarily that they approve of the crime, they just dont want it public and have to deal with the fallout. It almost seems the norm for big institutions or companies to do this. Kind of sad.

I'm not trying to justify the pope's action. That was horribly wrong and they acted completely at fault. The church was wrong. Especially given their position as a "moral" authority. I'm pointing out that this problem is more widespread and epidemic than people would like to believe. I suspect that most organizations would rather try a cover up than do the right thing if it meant a financial loss or bad press to them. At least, that's what I've seen in the past.

I'm not trying to justify the pope's action. That was horribly wrong and they acted completely at fault. The church was wrong. Especially given their position as a "moral" authority. I'm pointing out that this problem is more widespread and epidemic than people would like to believe. I suspect that most organizations would rather try a cover up than do the right thing if it meant a financial loss or bad press to them. At least, that's what I've seen in the past.

sonicare

I'm not trying to justify the pope's action. That was horribly wrong and they acted completely at fault. The church was wrong. Especially given their position as a "moral" authority. I'm pointing out that this problem is more widespread and epidemic than people would like to believe. I suspect that most organizations would rather try a cover up than do the right thing if it meant a financial loss or bad press to them. At least, that's what I've seen in the past.

[QUOTE="Frame_Dragger"][QUOTE="sonicare"]

I'm not trying to justify the pope's action. That was horribly wrong and they acted completely at fault. The church was wrong. Especially given their position as a "moral" authority. I'm pointing out that this problem is more widespread and epidemic than people would like to believe. I suspect that most organizations would rather try a cover up than do the right thing if it meant a financial loss or bad press to them. At least, that's what I've seen in the past.

sonicare

[QUOTE="sonicare"][QUOTE="Frame_Dragger"] The thing is, as with Penn State, it's just a matter of those organizations being smaller by an order of magnitude or more, and far more subject to criminal and civil liability. JoePa is out... the old pope is halfway to sainthood. :P

The issue with the Catholic church is that you have what amounts to a small government with its own nation state unwilling to act in a manner that prevents future abuse, even by known abusers. As any alterboy will tell you, size matters. Frame_Dragger

All by a organization that preaches "values" and morals people should live by.

Does it matter? A cover up is a cover up. Just because one organization is more likely to get away with it doesnt make it any less wrong for the other. Child rape is child rape. Does it matter who did it? To that victim the crime is just as bad if its a priest or a defensive coordinator. Either way, their life is been changed. The church may have overseen more crimes, but that doesnt make them more or less wrong for not reporting it. It just means they are wrong and should have done far more.sonicare

[QUOTE="sonicare"][QUOTE="Frame_Dragger"] The thing is, as with Penn State, it's just a matter of those organizations being smaller by an order of magnitude or more, and far more subject to criminal and civil liability. JoePa is out... the old pope is halfway to sainthood. :P

The issue with the Catholic church is that you have what amounts to a small government with its own nation state unwilling to act in a manner that prevents future abuse, even by known abusers. As any alterboy will tell you, size matters. Frame_Dragger

[QUOTE="Frame_Dragger"][QUOTE="sonicare"] Does it matter? A cover up is a cover up. Just because one organization is more likely to get away with it doesnt make it any less wrong for the other. Child rape is child rape. Does it matter who did it? To that victim the crime is just as bad if its a priest or a defensive coordinator. Either way, their life is been changed. The church may have overseen more crimes, but that doesnt make them more or less wrong for not reporting it. It just means they are wrong and should have done far more.sonicare

[QUOTE="sonicare"][QUOTE="Frame_Dragger"] Would you rather be shot with a .22 or a tank round? Yeah... the scale of a problem matters, because it changes the dynamics of how a given case unfolds, and the pattern that's established. After all, "football coach" isn't exactly a known safe-haven for pedophiles... "priest" is. I'd add, there is not reporting, and then there's actively moving priests to different parishes where they still oversee children. We're not just talking about turning the other cheek here, but active assistance.Frame_Dragger

I think where there's a disconnect in this conversation is that Frame_Dragger is pointing towards the QUANTITY of child rapes that the Catholic Church allowed, covered up and enabled vs. Sonicare is talking about how, functionally, both institutions did the same thing. You're both right in different ways IMO. Sonicare is right that both institutions effectively acted much the same way (with the exception that the Catholic Church actively helped make the rapes possible whereas Penn State simply turned a blind eye to them), but Frame_Dragger is also right in that the sheer NUMBER that the Catholic Church allowed due to their wider span of control/influence makes what happened in that organization overall worse. Sandusky probably raped a couple of dozen kids at Penn State over the years and, if rumors are to be believed, even loaned some out to wealthy alumni and doners. Upper limit on the number of rapes...maybe 100? 200? The Catholic Church quite possibly had hundreds of priests worldwide raping THOUSANDS of little kids for decades. Upper limit...tens of thousands? Millions? Hard to say for sure.nocoolnamejim

.. There is more to this.. Sandusky is actually going to be charged and put into prison.. The priest pedophiles of the Catholic Church were hidden and moved around, never to get charged by the state.. Furthermore Penn State fired and disavowedthe people involved more or less, the Catholic Church has basically donenone of these.. And unlike a State University, the Catholic Church claims to be a foundation of morality and values in how people should live their lives.. One would think that being at the supposed highest foundation of piety, their greatest criticisms should be by themselves not other people.. Yet the Catholic Church has basically contradicted their core tenents and ideals by doing this.

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]First it is school coaches, now priests? Man, you can't trust anyone anymore.LJS9502_basic

The catholic church must pay for these crimes against humanity TheKraken0

[QUOTE="TheKraken0"]The catholic church must pay for these crimes against humanity Nibroc420

[QUOTE="Frame_Dragger"][QUOTE="sonicare"] That analogy is not relevant to this case. Child rape is child rape. I highly doubt that the rape committed by a catholic priest is any worse on the victim than the rape committed by a footballl coach. I dont see how you can qualify one case of child rape and cover up as worse than another. IMO, both cases are atrocious and should be brought to justice. In regards to save havens, in that case it was. This guy was known to be raping children and was not stopped. In fact, he was almost enabled. That's pretty bad. The church certainly acted incredibly amorally by enabling the rape in their parishes as well. But to say that one crime is worse than another is pretty arbitrary. Both should suffer.sonicare

A majority of Sexual abuse occurs in the household by a Father or Mother. Considering they are parent's it's assumed they've released their juices. It happens in all places. Yes it's terrible there are priests who have done these things, but at least the Church has addressed the issue and is attempting to insure it doesn't happen again. ferrari2001

A majority of Sexual abuse occurs in the household by a Father or Mother. Considering they are parent's it's assumed they've released their juices. It happens in all places. Yes it's terrible there are priests who have done these things, but at least the Church has addressed the issue and is attempting to insure it doesn't happen again. ferrari2001